I stood frozen, my heart pounding in my chest as I stared at Damian. He was like a ghost, or maybe a nightmare. His presence made my skin crawl, and yet... I couldn’t tear my eyes away. His face, his voice, it was like looking at my past, the one that I had left behind when I was... well, when I was me. The person I used to be, before everything went to hell.

Orion stepped in front of me, blocking my view, his body tense. “He’s ruthless,” Orion muttered under his breath, his voice low but carrying. “Ambitious, and his pack is known for their cruelty.”

I wanted to ask what the hell he meant, but all I could do was glare at the man who looked so much like my ex. Damian, the man who had used me, who had drained me dry, and left me for dead. The man who had stolen everything from me, including my future.

Damian’s eyes flicked over to me, and for a second, I could’ve sworn he knew exactly who I was. There was something in his gaze—cold, calculating—and it made my stomach twist. “Well, well,” he said, his voice smooth like velvet, “looks like fate’s got a funny way of putting people in the same place.”

Orion tensed, and I could feel his eyes flicking between Damian and me, as if he were waiting for something to snap. The air felt thick, charged with something dangerous. I tried to ignore the way my body seemed to react to Damian’s presence—how my pulse quickened, how my breath caught in my throat, like there was some twisted pull between us.

But I hated that feeling. I hated it with every ounce of my being.

“You know her?” Orion asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

Damian’s smirk deepened, and the eerie calmness in his voice made my blood run cold. “Oh, I know her,” he said, voice too smooth. “A little too well, actually.”

I stiffened. How did he know me? What the hell was going on? He wasn’t supposed to know me. He couldn’t.

“Listen,” Orion said, his tone turning sharper, “keep your distance. I don’t care what your business is, but she’s under my protection now. So don’t think you can—”

I didn’t catch the rest of Orion’s words.

Damian leaned back, eyeing Orion like they were sizing each other up, trying to figure out which one of them would make the first move.

Then, it happened.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and suddenly, a hybrid—a creature that wasn’t fully wolf, but wasn’t fully human either—lunged into the clearing.

Before I could even process what was happening, Damian’s pack circled around, their eyes glowing with an eerie hunger. Damian didn’t flinch.

In one swift motion, he reached for the hybrid, his hand gripping its throat, squeezing the life out of it like it was nothing more than a pest. He didn’t hesitate. Didn’t blink. Just... killed it while looking at me.

I felt my stomach churn, but it wasn’t just the violence that hit me hard. It was the way Damian enjoyed it—the way his grin widened as the hybrid’s life drained away. It was the same way I remembered him, cold and merciless.

And then I remembered my death—of that damn bridge, the truck, the coldness of him—rushed back like a tidal wave.

Without thinking, I slapped him. Hard. His face snapped to the side with a sickening crack, almost like it was going to pull off. The sound echoed through the clearing.

Damian’s smirk never faltered. His cheek was reddening where I’d slapped him, but he didn’t even blink. Instead, he laughed—a low, dangerous sound that made my skin crawl. “Not bad,” he chuckled.

His wolves growled, their eyes flashing with violence, but Damian waved them off casually. He didn’t seem worried. “You’re way too strong for a hybrid,” he said, looking directly at me. His gaze was cold, calculating. “I’ll make sure to kill you soon enough.”

I flinched at the coldness in his words, remembering what he had done to me, the way he had pushed me to my death. But before I could react, Damian turned to leave, his wolves following behind him with that same eerie silence.

As they disappeared into the shadows, Damian’s laugh echoed in my ears, the sound so haunting I felt it in my bones.

“See you soon,” he called out, his voice full of dark amusement. “And don’t think you’re getting away that easily… Evelise.”

The blood drained from my face.

How does he know my name?

Before I could react, he vanished into the darkness, leaving nothing but the chill of his words hanging in the air. My legs buckled, but Orion caught me, his grip firm.

“What the hell just happened?” he demanded, his voice cutting through the suffocating silence.

I couldn’t answer. My mind was a whirlpool of fear and questions, each one dragging me deeper.

He knows who I am.

But how?

The days blurred together as we kept moving, but there were small moments that stood out. Like the times I shifted to my wolf form—or my serpent form. It was crazy. I shifted twice into a massive, snake-like creature in the span of just a few days. Every time, I lost control, and the hunger was there, bigger and more dangerous than before. My body kept changing, twisting, growing in ways I couldn’t predict.

Orion had to step in each time to reign me in, literally grabbing hold of me, grounding me, reminding me who I was, who I needed to be. At first, he was patient, talking me down, guiding me through the chaos. But by the fifth time I shifted uncontrollably, he snapped at me.

“You’ve got to learn to control it, Evelise,” he said, his voice tense. “You can’t keep letting the wolf or the serpent run wild. You’re better than that.”

I hated how right he was, how weak I felt each time he had to stop me from destroying everything around me. I could feel it—my strength growing with every shift, but it was like I didn’t know how to harness it. That’s when he started to train me in combat, teaching me how to control my body, how to use my own anger to my advantage.

Orion wasn’t just teaching me about my powers. He was teaching me how to fight. Sparring with him was intense. He’d throw me into scenarios where I had to think on my feet—fighting without relying on my shifting. Every time I made a move, he was there, countering it, pushing me to be better, faster, smarter.

But it wasn’t all about combat. The hunger—the damn hunger—was still there, gnawing at me. One evening, when my stomach growled louder than I could ignore, Orion looked at me, a smirk on his lips. “You’re starving, aren’t you?”

I just nodded, eyes fixed on the ground. I could barely focus anymore; all I wanted was food. And it was then he decided we’d hunt for dinner.

“I’ll show you how to hunt, then,” he said. “You need to learn how to take care of yourself. You can’t rely on others for everything.”

So, we did. He led me through the forest, teaching me how to track rabbits. It felt like everything was in slow motion as I followed his lead, scenting the air like he did, moving silently through the trees. Finally, when we spotted a rabbit, I shifted quickly into my wolf form, using the skills he’d been teaching me. I was faster now, more controlled.

When I took down the rabbit, I felt a strange sense of pride. It wasn’t just about feeding myself. It was about gaining control over the wild side of me, the beast I couldn’t quite tame.

That night, as we cooked the rabbits over the fire, Orion looked at me, a small grin playing at the corner of his lips. “Not bad,” he said, impressed. “You’re learning.”

I ate, feeling the hunger subside for the first time in days. But I didn’t feel satisfied—not completely. I was still struggling with the internal battle, the push and pull between the woman I was and the creature I was becoming.

The next morning, Orion had more lessons for me. This time, it wasn’t hand-to-hand combat or hunting. It was archery.

“Focus,” he told me, handing me a bow. “The key to shooting isn’t in strength. It’s in your instincts. Find your target, breathe, and release.”

I wasn’t sure how I’d do with it, but after a few attempts, I found my rhythm. The arrows flew straight, hitting their marks with surprising precision. My confidence grew a little with every shot.

By the end of the day, I was physically exhausted, but I felt... stronger. More in control.

Orion wasn’t just training me in survival. He was teaching me how to be this new version of myself. And though I still had a long way to go, for the first time, I actually felt like I could be in control.

That night, after we finished training, I needed some space. I slipped away from the camp, making my way to a waterfall I’d spotted earlier in the day. I needed to clear my head, to wash away the thoughts that kept swirling in my mind.

When I reached the waterfall, I undressed and stepped into the water. The coolness felt good against my skin, but what happened next made my breath catch in my throat.

The moonlight hit the water, casting everything in silver. And then, I saw it. My body—it was glowing. Not in a way that made sense. More like it was... alive in a way I couldn’t explain. My skin shimmered under the moon’s gaze, and I couldn’t look away.

I didn’t even realize what I was doing until I heard myself howl. The sound tore from my throat, full of raw emotion I couldn’t understand. It was a release, a scream of pain, of confusion, of everything.

And then, as soon as the last echo of my howl faded, I opened my eyes—and there he was.

Orion.

He was standing at the edge of the water, watching me, his expression unreadable. My heart pounded in my chest, and for a moment, it felt like time had stopped. I was naked in front of him, exposed, vulnerable. But in that moment, something clicked.

I couldn’t explain it, but I knew it. I felt it. My pulse thundered in my ears as his eyes darkened, something unspoken flashing across his face.

And then it hit me!

MATE.